Hood latch



Sept- 11, 1951 A. cLAuD-MANTLE 2,567,662 n HOOD LATCH Filed July 20,1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. l1, 1951 A. -CLAUD-MANTLE 2,567,662

Hoon LATCH Filed July 2o, 194e 2 sheets-sheet 2 3g 4o 3e 4540 PatentedSept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OF FICE HOOD LATCH Application July20, 1946, Serial No. 685,027

9 Claims.

This invention relates to hood latches, and more particularly to thosein which the automobile vhood is of the alligator type, the lid of .thehood being liftable from the front of the car.

One of the objects of the invention is .to provide an improved rhoodlatch of the type in which the lid carries a depending latch memberwhich is adapted .to be gripped and held within a gripping devicecarried by the lower stationary part of the hood.

Another object is to provide for very secure fastening of a latchingmember in the form of a latching post or shank, -the latching memberbeing lfirmly held against movement or play during the -travel of thevehicle.

Another object is to provide improved means for 4acting upon and holdingthe latching post or like member and for effecting its 4release when itis desired to open the hood.

VIn the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation with parts broken away and vwith some partsin section, showing a hood latch embodying the invention, the latchybeing in the latched position;

Fig. 2 is an elevation with some parts broken away andisomepartsomitted, showing the latch illustrated `in Fig. l, looking from thefront end of `the car;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 vof Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 Aof Fig. 3;

Fg.5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 15A is a somewhat diagrammatic view not drawn to scale, showing theoperation of the mechanism of Fig. 5-when the latch is released;

Fig. 61s `asection on line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 .is a view similar to Fig. 6 with parts omitted, showing theposition of the elements during the releasing movement of the latch;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing the positionof the partscarried by the fixed part of the hood, when the lid is in the liftedposition;

Fig. kiA is a sectional View showing certain lparts `illustrated in Fig.V8 `as they `appear when the latch vis in the released position forpermitting disengagement of the latching post;

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the parts shown in Eig. -8;

Fig. l0 isa view similar to Fig. 5 lillustrating the action of thedevice when the latching post is somewhat twisted;

Fig. ll is la section looking toward the rollers of Fig. l0 -from theends; and

Figs. `.l2 and 13 are views similar to Figs. l0 and l-l illustratinganother condition hereinafter described.

In the yembodiment selected for illustration, the .automobile Vhood isof the ,alligator type, hav-.ing a Ylid which is liftable from 4thefront end of the -car `and .has -a hinge located adjacent the rear vendof the .engine enclosure. The latching mechanism includes a depending:latching member ,generally in a form of a post carried by the lidadjacent the Vfront end .of the Ilid .and adapted te .be Vengagediby a.gripping device ,l0- cated within the upper party of the stationarymember of the engine enclosure. In this form, the latching post is xedto va transverse mounting plate carried by the lid, .and the .grippingdevice is carried by a mounting plate supported in and extendingtransversely of the lower stationary hood member. The gripping device isconstructed to receive ,and center the latching ,pest when the lid islowered, and the usual spring is employed in association with the twohood members, acting to separate them to a certain extent as soon vasthe latch is released. There is also preferably associated with thelatching mechanism a safety hook or other ysafety device acting to limitlifting of the lid when the safety device is in the vnormal or activeposition. The gripping device ,for gripping the latching post andholding the lid in thev closed position has, of course, associatedtherewith means whereby `the latch can be released, yand it is preferredto have the releasing means operable from the interior of the carthrough the use of a suitable member, such as a flexible pull member.

In the drawings, the lid is shown vat 20. the

lower hood member at 2l, the mounting plate.

carried :by the lid at 22, the mounting plate on .the other hood memberat 23, the ,-latch ypost carried by member 22 at 24, and the lid-liftingspring at 25. The member 24 is preferably constructed in the ymannerhereinafter described'.

The gripping device carried by the mountingy `plate :23 Yis indicatedv`generally at 26. VA pull cable leading from the gripping device tothe- ;interior of the car is `shown at 2l, and an o perating knob iixedto the pull cable within the interior of the car is shown at 28.Thesafety catch previously mentioned is shown at 29. In the form shown,this `catch vis provided with a hook and `is pivoted to the plate 22`and adapted to engage in the usual manner under a portion of a rib lil(to be hereinafter described) when `the hook is in the normal position.The `.hoolr is manipulable by lmeans of a'manipulating arm or pad 2921.

The latching post 24 ispreferably of somewhat larger cross sectionladjacent its upper .end than asevee adjacent its lower end, and at itsupper extremity it is preferably provided with an enlargement or head 30that is secured to plate 3ll1L in any suitable manner, as by riveting orupsetting. The spring is a helical spring which surrounds the post 24,and has its lower end received in a cup 3| which is slidably mounted onthe post and is adapted to take up against the upper part of thegripping device 26 when the lid is in the latched position, as shown inFig. 3, at which time the spring is under considerable compression.

'Ihat portion of the post 24 which engages within the gripping device 26is preferably flattened in cross section so as to have oppositesubstantially flat faces, and is tapered inwardly and upwardly, andpreferably the cross section of this portion of the latching member iselongated in a direction lengthwise of the hood. The opposite largerfaces are adapted to be engaged by gripping elements carried by thegripping member 26, as hereinafter described. The front and rear endsurfaces provided on the flattened part of the latch post are preferablyslightly rounded, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but not necessarily so.

'The gripping member 26 in this form of the device comprises a `box-likepart in which are located the gripping elements to grip the post atopposite faces. In the form Shown, the box-like member is constructed ofsheet metal and has a top Wall 32, a front wall 33, a rear wall 34, anda bottom wall 35. .This box-like member also has in this embodiment arelatively fixed side wall 36 and a relatively movable opposite sidewall 31, this side wall 31 serving as a part of the latch-releasingmeans, as hereinafter described.

` The upper wall 32 of the box is provided with a slot 38 which receivesthe latch post with some clearance to permit freedom of movement whenthe lid is opened. Associated with the upper wall 32 is a centeringdevice tending to locate and center the latching post when the lid islowered. In the form shown, this centering device is provided by fixinga metal plate 39 in position upon the wall 32, said plate having bent-uplongitudinal centering ribs 40 along the sides of the slot 38. The ribs40 may be formed integral with transverse strengthening ribs 4I on theplate 39, as in the example shown. When the lid is in the latchedposition, the spring cup 3| rests on the ribs 40. With in the box abovedescribed are located gripping elements adapted to hold the latchingpost by engaging the previously mentioned engaging faces. These elementscomprise spring- -pressed rollers which are mounted so as to be movablein an up-and-down direction. The element at one side of the post isindicated at 42 and the other element at 43. The element 42 is adaptedto cooperate with the side wall 36 as hereinafter described, and theelement 43 with the side wall 31. The element 42 comprises in itsstructure a gripping roller 44, and the element 43 comprises a grippingroller 45. The two elements are in this case of identical structure,each roller having trunnions 46 at the respective ends adapted to movein clearance slots or recesses in the front and rear walls of the box,and each element also comprising a shank 41 having a fork-shaped head 48engaging a reduced roller portion 49 intermediate the ends of the rollerin the manner shown in Fig. 5, the fork engaging the roller frombeneath. Each roller support has its shank protruding through a slot 50in the bottom of the box, and between the bottom of the box and theyfork-shapedhead on the shank isa compression spring in the form of acoil, as indicated at 5|, said spring normally holding the associatedroller in a predetermined upper position as, for example, in engagementwith the top wall of the box, as shown in Fig. 8.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be observed that the right-hand roller hasits forward trunnion received in a slot 52 in the forward wall of thebox, while the trunnion of the left-hand roller is in a recess 53. Therearward wall of the box is constructed similarly to the forward wall asregards the provision of these clearance recesses.

As the rollers move upwardly in the box, they also move toward eachother, their movement be ing along upwardly converging lines. In thepresent embodiment, this upwardly converging moveu ment is caused by thefact that the rollers travel in engagement with the adjacent side wallsof the box, which walls are formed at their upper portions to provide aslight incline, as shown, for example, in Fig. 8. The left-hand rollerof Fig. 8 is in engagement with an inclined wall portion 54 on wall 36,and the right-hand roller is in engagement with an inclined portion 55on wall 31. The wall 36 is, in this instance, a stationary wall, but thewall 31, on the other hand, is a movable wall, the same being pivoted tothe box so as to be adapted to swing to one side for purposes ofreleasing the latch. In this case, the wall 31 is hinged or pivoted tothe bottom of the box by having lug portions 31a provided thereon whichengage slots in the box bottom in a manner to hinge the wall so that itcan be moved outwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3, swinging onthe hinge connection. In the form shown, an upright shaft 56 is mountedoutside of the wall 31, said shaft having a bearing 51 in an extensionon the upper wall of the box and having a bearing 58 in an extension ofthe bottom of the box. The shaft 56 carries at its upper part a rigidmember in the nature of a cam, indicated at 56E, said cam having aperiphery which for the most part is round but is provided with a atsurface 59. The round portion of the cam periphery is adapted to engagethe external surface of wall 31 to hold the wall stationary in aposition in which it will force the right-hand roller (Fig. 8) inwardly.A spring 6B acts on the shaft 56, so that normally the wall 31 will beheld in the position just mentioned. The spring 60 may be a coil spring,the lower coils of which frictionally engage the shaft 56. As shown,this spring also has a lower extremity engaging a notch 6| in shaft 56,although this engagement may -be omitted if it is desired to renderthespring adjustable as to tension by rotation of the shaft. The springhas an upper extremity which, in this example, is extended across one ofthe box walls in abutting relation thereto, as shown in Fig. 1. Shaft 56may be turned in opposition to the spring for purposes of releasing thelatch, by means of an operating arm 62 suitably secured as by rivetingto the upper end of the shaft, said arm being connected to the forwardend of the pull cable 21 previously mentioned. When the cable is pulled,the arm 62 and shaft 56 are turned to a position in which the flat 59 isopposed to the wall 31, and this permits movement of said Wall torelease the latch.

In the operation of the-device, the latching post 24 when the lid islowered enters the slot 38 and enters between the opposite rollers andpresses them downwardly from the position of Fig. 8 to the position ofFig. 3. For accomplishing this purpose, the lower end of the postisrtapered Ato an edge, as shown at 24e, whereby Vthe post wedges therollers ap-art, and as they are wedged apart they move ydownwardly along-their *respece tive inclined guiding surfaces; The'spring's' act= ing'on the rollers press them upwardly so that, when the post is in itslowermost position, the rollers are firmly held in wedged engagementwith opposite faces of the post. In this manner, the post is verystrongly gripped and held without there being any play or movementbetween the latching post and the frame of the gripping deL- vice. Thelid is, therefore, very strongly held in the closed position, andvibration due to the move: ment of thel vehicle will not cause noise orundue wear in the latching means.

when it is desired to raise the lid, the knob 28Y is pulled, whichresults in the turning -of the vshaftii to the releasing position. Assoon as the cam 56a is turned counterclckwise with respect to Fig. 5,the wall 3l is free to swing outwardly on its lower hinged mounting.This provides lateral clearance for the adjacent roller 45 and lateralclearance for the latching post, as indicated in V'an exaggerated mannerin Fig. 5A, so that the lifting spring 25 can immediately come Aintoplay, after which the lid is opened in the usual manner. As'the latchingmember leaves the gripping box, the rollers move up to the positionsshown in Fig. 8.

It is understood that, inasmuch as the lid is pivoted at the rear of thehood, the latch post, in moving to and from the latched position, swingsin an arc of relatively long radius. The latch structure described isone well adapted for use under such conditions, accommodating itself tothe swinging movement of the post and enabling the post to beeffectively gripped as it -moves downwardly through the lower plateelement when the hood is being closed. In doing this the lower end ofthe post enters the space between the rollers and wedges them apart andmoves them downwardly to some extent `against the upward pushing actionof their springs.

It is definitely of advantage to have the longer axis of the latchingmember shank cross section arranged generally in line with thelongitudinal axis of the hood, for this allows for some inaccuracy inthe locating of the hinge axis -of the lid without interfering with theeffective gripping of the latching member shank. As will be noted r fromFig. 6, the slot 38 is of sufficient length to give ample clearance foran accurately positioned shank at both of thelateral edges of the shank.In the form shown, the clearance is greater in these regions thanadjacent the side faces of the shank. The rollers engage the side facesof the shank over a substantial area, and in this way the grippingeffect is increased. In the form shown, the elongation of the shankcross section is somewhat greater at `the extremity of the shank than itis in the regions where the rollers engage the shank v(Fig. 6), in orderto retain the spring cup on the shank when the lid is open.

The construction described is also of advantage in that, if the shank orpost is somewhat twisted in a horizontal plane as placed upon the lid,the rollers will nevertheless engage it and grip it effectively. Thiscondition is illustrated in Figs. l and ll, and it will be noted thatunder these conditions the rollers are free to swing in planes which areat angles to the vertical longitudinal median plane of the hood in orderto conform to the respective faces of the shank. Another condition whichmay arise, and which is compensated for in the improved construction, isilluslwith fork-'shaped heads engaging reduced portions or neck portionsof the rollers intermediate of the ends of the rollers. By referring toFig. 5, for example, it will be noted that the forks `48 engage thereduced intermediate portions of the rollers with a-certain amount oflateral clearance, and by this arrangement it is possible to support theroller resiliently between the roller ends, and at the same time permittilting-of the roller along its inclined contacting and guiding surface,if it is necessary for lthe roller to tilt in order to conform itselfAto the rsurface of the latching-post.

It is very important in a device of this -kind to overcome play when thelatching member `is Vin the latched position, with the noise and wearthat result from the loosenessof the parts. It-isalso kimportant toprovide against improper action of the latch as a result of slightinaccuracies inthe hinging of the lid and in the placement of the latchmembers and their supporting parts relatively to the hood members. Thedeviceas herein described admirably meets these conditions, and at thesame time it is relatively simple in structure and relativelyinexpensive.

While, as shown herein, the members engaging substantial lateralareas ofthe latching shank are guided in their upward converging movements bywalls of the box structure in whichsaid members are received throughdirect engagement of the working surfaces of these members with the boxwalls, other guiding means may be used in some cases.

`Gnly one embodiment is shown in the drawings, but it is to beunderstood that various changes in `the organization of parts and in thedetails may be made without departing from the principles of theinvention or the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a hood latch, a rigid post-like latching member adapted 'to -becarried -by the lid of the hood, and a gripping means adapted to becarried by the lower part of the hood,esaid gripping means comprising inits structure -a box into which the latching member can move from above,and separate rolling gripping elements in said box guided by oppositelateral walls of the box adapted to engage the latch member fromopposite sides of the latter, one of said lateral walls of said boxbeing movable to release one of said gripping elements and therebyrelease the latching member.

2. In a hood latch, a rigid depending post-like member adapted to becarried by the lid of the Ihood and having a flat side surface, and agripa box adapted to be carried by the lower part of the hood having anupper slot into which said post-like member can enter, said box havinglateral walls with inclined guiding surfaces thereon adjacent the upperpart of the box, and gripping devices guided by said guiding surfacescomprising gripping rollers engageable with the latching member fromopposite sides of the latter, and spring-pressed forked Shanks disposedbeneath the rollers and urging them upwardly in converging planes withrespect to the median plane of the latching member and engaging reducedneck portions intermediate of the ends of the rollers in a manner topermit tilting of the rollers in the planes in which the respectiverollers are guided, one of the lateral walls of the box beingdisplaceable to release the latch.

4. In a latch for securing a lid to a hood, the combination of a rigiddepending latching member within th-e forward end portion of the lid inthe form of a post of elongated flattened cross section, said post beingelongated lengthwise of the hood, a plate member xed in the lower hoodmember having a slot into which the post enters and in which the postmoves downwardly, and gripping rollers below said slot adapted to engagethe respective side faces of the post to grip and hold the post, saidrollers being pressed upwardly by springs and guided in upwardlyconverging planes and arranged to be wedged apart and moved downwardlyby the post as the post moves to the latching position, said rollersbeing guided by and moving in a box structure arranged below said plate,and said box structure having a movable lateral wall acting as a supportfor one of the rollers which can be shifted to release the latch.

5,. In a latch for securing a lid to a hood, the combination of adepending latching member within the forward end portion of the lidhaving opposite relatively wide side faces, a plate member fixed in thelower hood member having an aperture into which the latching memberenters and in which it moves downwardly, and gripping rollers below saidplate member adapted to engage the respective .side laces of thelatching member, said rollers being guided in upwardly converging.planes and pressed upwardly by springs and normally engaging the undersurface of said plate member at opposite sides of its aperture and inpartially underlying relationship to said aperture and arranged to bemoved downwardly to latching position by the latching member as thelatter descends, and means for releasing the latch member by the outwarddisplacement of one of the rollers with respect to the latch member.

6. In a latch for securing a lid to a hood, the combination of adepending latching member fixed within the forward end portion of thelid and havingopposite relatively wide dat sides, a plate member fixedin the lower hood member having an aperture into which said latchingmember enters and in which said member moves downwardly, a box structurebeneath said plate member, and gripping rollers for engaging therespective fiat sides of the latch member pressed upwardly by springsWithin said box structure and guided by opposite lateral walls thereofin upwardly converging planes and normally in Contact with the lowersurface of said plate member, one of said lateral walls being providedwith a lower hinge so that it can be swung away from its associatedroller.

7, A hood latch comprising a plate provided With an aperture to receivea latch member, a box structure arranged beneath and connected to saidplate member and having a bottom and side and Yend walls, and grippingrollers within said box structure pressed upwardly by springs and guidedin upwardly converging planes by opposite walls respectively of saidstructure and normally in contact with the lower surface of said platemember at opposite sides of said aperture, one of said opposite wallsbeing mounted so that it can be moved away from its associated roller torelease the latch member, and a device releasable from a distance forholding said Wall in the operative or latching position.

8. A hood latch comprising a plate provided with a slot to receive alatch member of attened cross section, a box structure arranged beneathand connected to said plate member and having a bottom and side and endwalls, gripping rollers within said box structure at oppositesides ofsaid slot pressed upwardly by springs and guided in upwardly convergingplanes by opposite walls respectively of said structure and normally incontact with the lower surface of said plate member, one of saidopposite Walls being hinged at its lower part so that it can be swungaway from its associated roller to release the latch member, and aspring-pressed cam device releasable from a distance for holding saidhinged wall in the operative or latching position.

9. A hood latch comprising a plate provided with an aperture to receivea latch member, a box structure beneath and connected to said platemember and having a bottom and side and end Walls, gripping rollerswithin said box structure pressed upwardly by springs mounted on Shanksextending through the bottom of the box structure, said rollers beingguided in upwardly converging planes by opposite walls respectively ofsaid structure, one of said opposite walls being mounted so that it canbe moved away from its associated roller to release the latch member,and a device releasable from a distance for holding said wall in theoperative or latchng position.

ARTHUR CLAUD-MANTLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 461,167 Gaskill' Oct. 13, 18911,733,108 Bienaime Oct. 29, 1929 2,210,989 Sutherland Aug. 13, 19402,275,740 De Orlow Mar. 10, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date571,635 France Feb. 6, 1924

